In a bad year for hedge funds, top 25 managers earned $11.62 billion in 2014


Last year wasn't great for investors in hedge funds: On average, hedge funds returned a paltry 3 percent, versus a gain of 13.68 percent on the S&P 500 (with reinvested dividends included), The New York Times reports. Only five of the top 10 hedge fund managers, as ranked by Institutional Investor's Alpha, performed better than the S&P 500. But even though the well-heeled and institutional investors in hedge funds got hosed, The Times notes, "for those who managed their money, the pay was spectacular": $11.62 billion for the top 25 managers.
Or as Alpha puts it, they made "a paltry $11.62 billion combined, barely half of the $21.15 billion the top 25 gained the previous year and roughly equal to what they took home during nightmarish 2008." Citadel's Kenneth Griffin (pictured) was the top earner, at $1.3 billion last year, but the average earning was "just $476 million," not the $846 billion in 2013, Alpha added. And you may now take out your tiny violins.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Confessions of a Brain Surgeon: an 'exceptional' documentary
The Week Recommends Retired neurosurgeon Henry Marsh reflects on his pioneering work with exquisitely 'raw honesty'
-
A new subtype of diabetes was found and it may require different treatment
Under the radar It is prevalent in Black Africans and Americans
-
Crossword: August 20, 2025
The Week's daily crossword
-
Trump said to seek government stake in Intel
Speed Read The president and Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan reportedly discussed the proposal at a recent meeting
-
US to take 15% cut of AI chip sales to China
Speed Read Nvidia and AMD will pay the Trump administration 15% of their revenue from selling artificial intelligence chips to China
-
NFL gets ESPN stake in deal with Disney
Speed Read The deal gives the NFL a 10% stake in Disney's ESPN sports empire and gives ESPN ownership of NFL Network
-
Samsung to make Tesla chips in $16.5B deal
Speed Read Tesla has signed a deal to get its next-generation chips from Samsung
-
FCC greenlights $8B Paramount-Skydance merger
Speed Read The Federal Communications Commission will allow Paramount to merge with the Hollywood studio Skydance
-
Tesla reports plummeting profits
Speed Read The company may soon face more problems with the expiration of federal electric vehicle tax credits
-
Dollar faces historic slump as stocks hit new high
Speed Read While stocks have recovered post-Trump tariffs, the dollar has weakened more than 10% this year
-
Economists fear US inflation data less reliable
speed read The Labor Department is collecting less data for its consumer price index due to staffing shortages